Fool's Errand
by Suspicious Popsicle
Summary: Yuri goes to see a sorcerer to make a wish. The visit does not end well. Don't argue with magic-users. Featured characters include Repede and Sodia in addition to Yuri & Flynn. Eventual fluri.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, here's that weird one I was going on about on tumblr. Basically, this whole thing got started because when Raven first shows up, he has a throwaway line about a sorcerer who lives at the ends of the earth. About all I have to say for it is that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Thanks again to Hoskky for making sure the story makes sense. =D

Updates every couple days.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from _Tales of Vesperia_ and do not belong to me.

* * *

Cautiously, Yuri stepped up to the edge of the Shrine of Zaude. It wasn't so enduring, anymore. The battle that had taken place there months ago and Alexei's activation of the shrine's blastia had left it crumbling and more unstable than Yuri had expected. Every few minutes on the climb up, the echo of falling rocks had reminded him that the place was still slowly breaking apart. It was only a matter of time until the whole thing ended up beneath the sea, which made his business there all the more important. If he lost his nerve and left, there was no telling whether he would be able to return before Zaude was gone.

He backed carefully away from the sheer drop, and once again considered what Raven had told him when he'd asked how to find the sorcerer who made his home at the ends of the earth.

_"Well, as it turns out, my original information wasn't exactly correct. Something got lost in translation, if ya know what I mean. It's more like this sorcerer lives at the end of the _world_, but it ain't the world as you and I both see it. In this case, ya gotta think of the world more as everything you experience. Ta be honest with ya, I've met the guy twice. I'm a little surprised you haven't."_

"Got any better ideas, Repede?"

Repede's better idea was to scrap the plan entirely. Yuri noted his protest and dismissed it.

"I need to do this. I've got to at least try to make things right."

It might not do any good. He might already be irreparably tarnished by his intent alone. He had to try, though. He had broken the law and never been punished. Given the chance to redeem himself and see justice done as it should have been, there was no way he could back down because of fear.

Resting the tips of his fingers lightly over the scar he'd gotten the last time he'd been on top of the tower, Yuri smiled humorlessly. There was irony in there somewhere that, because Sodia had broken the law and attempted to kill him, he might be able to find someone who could help him redeem himself. He wondered what she would say if she knew that her attempt on his life had been the key to understanding the information he'd gotten from Raven.

"If this doesn't work and Flynn finds out, I'm never going to hear the end of it."

He took a deep breath and, before he lost his will to second thoughts, ran back to the edge and leapt off.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from _Tales of Vesperia_ and do not belong to me.

* * *

Yuri was late, even by his usual laid-back standards. After months of Flynn asking, begging, cajoling, and delivering one or two outright threats, Yuri had finally agreed to spar with him as a demonstration for the Knights. Flynn had wanted to show his men how traditional attacks could be modified, and how those changes could be countered. His troops needed to understand that not everyone they fought would react in the same manner. They needed to learn to improvise, and Yuri was the best teacher for that sort of thing that Flynn could imagine. He hadn't been happy about it, of course, but he'd agreed two weeks ago and he should have been at the palace by noon. It was past two now, and no one had seen or heard from him.

Flynn was beginning to worry. The last time they had spoken, Yuri had mentioned that he would be leaving to take care of something personal, meaning he had set out with only Repede to watch his back. Flynn had wanted him to help demonstrate to the Knights how to deal with unpredictable opponents, but what if Yuri had met up with something he and Repede couldn't handle? He was tough, not invincible.

The only portion of the day's training that he'd needed to be present for had been the demonstration, and it was obvious that that would not be happening. He turned to Sodia who stood beside him, watching with a critical eye as the knights sparred.

"You handle things here. I'm going to go check on Yuri."

"He probably just decided not to show up. You know he doesn't like us, sir."

That was undeniably true about Yuri's opinion on the Knights as a whole, but Flynn felt it wasn't really fair to his friend. He smiled, looking out over the men who had assembled under his leadership in order to defend the citizens of the empire and to make honor and justice words that could once again be associated with the Knights.

"Yuri isn't really the big picture type. Perhaps he doesn't approve of the Imperial Knights based on past abuses, but he is capable of looking beyond the uniform when dealing with individuals. He wouldn't have broken a promise to me without a good reason."

"If you say so, sir."

She didn't sound convinced, but she had never really liked Yuri. It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating, sometimes. Those two were too much alike to get along. Neither one could give up on an injustice.

Secure in the knowledge that things at the palace were in capable hands, Flynn left the training field and made his way out into the city and down to the lower quarter. He asked a few of the people he passed if anyone had seen Yuri around, but no one could tell him anything helpful. With growing trepidation, he mounted the steps to Yuri's room and didn't bother to knock before entering.

Yuri wasn't there, but someone else was. A stranger wearing an outdated and ill-fitting uniform of the Imperial Knights stood leaning against the wall, a pipe held in his teeth as he watched the door from the corner of one eye. He was short but powerfully built and, though his deep blue hair initially made Flynn suspect he was Krityan, he lacked the telltale antennae. On the bed behind him was a dog like Repede, though Flynn had never seen one of that breed with black fur. The dog wagged its tail as the man stared impassively at Flynn.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? Where is Yuri?" Belatedly, he reached for his sword as he spoke. He'd been thrown off by the pair's apparent lack of hostility, but Yuri was missing and these two did not belong here. Something was wrong.

The dog got down off the bed and walked up to Flynn. It sat down in front of him and barked once, looking up expectantly.

"He says 'hello.'"

"Who are—"

"You know us." He turned his face fully toward Flynn, revealing a left eye long since scarred shut.

Flynn had seen that scar before. He realized suddenly that he recognized the pipe, knew the color of that hair. Shocked, he stared at the stranger who suddenly seemed so familiar. It couldn't be.

He looked back down at the dog. Around its right front paw was a blastia that Flynn knew all too well. Eyes as gray as thunderheads regarded him calmly.

"_Yuri_…?" His voice was unsteady, disbelieving, even as he tallied up tiny details that he'd missed at first glance. It couldn't be. It_ couldn't _be.

The dog ducked his head and broke eye contact with Flynn. How often had he seen Yuri do that when he knew he'd been caught doing something stupid?

He realized that, though it had slowed, the dog's tail hadn't stopped wagging since he'd entered the room. Would Yuri really be happy to see him under such unbelievable circumstances?

"Prove it." Even as he addressed the stranger, he couldn't take his eyes off the dog before him. He didn't want to believe what the man was suggesting. It was impossible.

"I can tell you what happened to him at the top of Zaude."

That got the attention of Flynn and the dog. Flynn whipped his head up to ask what the man meant, but the dog was faster. He was on his feet in the blink of an eye, growling at the stranger.

"What should I tell him, then? How I lost my eye, perhaps?" He looked back up at Flynn. "He blames himself for that, still. I suppose describing the burdens he carries wouldn't satisfy you." He glared down at the dog when it barked at him. "Got any better ideas?" His tone was mocking.

"If you can't prove who you say you are—"

"He told me once that you feared death more than you feared being unable to protect anyone."

"What do you…?" The question died on his lips as he remembered.

They'd had an argument, him and Yuri, at Ceazontania. It had been after he had returned with orders to hold their positions rather than with the reinforcements he'd been sent to bring back. Yuri had baited him into a fistfight, and Flynn had let him. Afterward, they'd apologized, but the situation had still been tense. As usual, Yuri had wanted to charge forward in a reckless attempt to eliminate the threat to the town. Flynn had disagreed. His father's death had still been too fresh in his mind and the circumstances too similar for him to be at all comfortable with that plan.

_"Once you're dead, it's over!"_ he'd said. True enough, but he could understand how Yuri would have seen his caution as fear. Maybe he hadn't been entirely wrong.

Sinking to his knees, Flynn reached out and hesitantly laid a hand on the dog's—Yuri's—head. His tail wagged so fiercely that his entire body shook with it.

"What happened?"

Repede explained the whole thing: how Yuri had heard rumors of a sorcerer that could grant any wish, how he'd gone to Raven for information on how to find the sorcerer's home, even how he'd realized the meaning behind Raven's words and gone to the place where his world had once ended. When he mentioned exactly how Yuri had found his way to the sorcerer's home, Flynn looked back and forth between them, aghast, finally settling his gaze on Yuri.

"You _jumped_…?"

Rolling his eyes, Yuri sighed and retreated to the bed. It was probably the only time Flynn would ever be able to yell at him for one of his brainless stunts when Yuri wouldn't be able to argue back, but he didn't even know where to begin. Besides, it had apparently _worked_, which would be all Yuri cared about. Obviously, he hadn't gotten his wish, but he had made it to the sorcerer's home. Flynn rubbed a hand over his face and took a seat in Yuri's only chair.

"All right. So, you found the sorcerer because Yuri did something incredibly foolish and reckless. I'm guessing he didn't risk his life like an idiot simply to trade places with you. What did he want and what went wrong?"

"His wish was for Ragou to have been handed an appropriate punishment by the empire."

Understanding hit Flynn like a physical blow as he realized immediately what had to have been going through his friend's mind. Either unwilling or unable to admit that he had acted in the wrong no matter the circumstances, Yuri had wished to change things so that he had never been presented with the choice. Did he really think that would have worked? Would it truly have absolved him if it did? And what about the person he had become? Had he really been so conflicted over his actions that he had been willing to risk everything else he had accomplished on his journey by making that one, life-altering change?

"Oh, Yuri…."

Yuri didn't look at him. His tail flopped back and forth listlessly on the covers in what Flynn was coming to realize had to be a reflexive motion. He looked for other clues to Yuri's mood, noting how his ears had drooped a little.

He'd known that Yuri hadn't taken Ragou's life easily. It was a decision he'd felt forced into making and, although it was almost certain he would do it again should he ever be put in that situation, he had never been happy about what kind of person that made him. Even so, he hadn't wished that he hadn't done it, but rather that he'd been spared the necessity of the choice. If the empire had punished Ragou appropriately, if Flynn had done his job….

"After making his wish, he got into an argument with the sorcerer about morality and what constituted an appropriate punishment."

Of course. Only Yuri Lowell would pick a fight with an all-powerful magic user after nearly killing himself to seek the man's aid. Feeling a headache coming on, Flynn pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Can I assume you tried going back to apologize, or would that be too much to hope for?"

"We woke up here, changed. Even if I was willing to follow him off the Shrine a second time—which I am _not_—neither of us is in any shape to defend ourselves on the way there. I don't know how you humans manage on two legs."

Flynn wasn't sure what to do. He had never encountered anything like this before, never even heard of the sorcerer before Repede's recounting of events. He had to believe that there was a way to reverse the spell. Perhaps the imperial archives would contain some information they could put to good use. There were whole sections of forgotten knowledge hidden away deep within the palace. If the answer wasn't there, Flynn would seek out the sorcerer himself. One way or another, they would find out how to break the spell.

Until then, Flynn didn't want to leave Yuri and Repede on their own. Normally, that wouldn't be a concern, of course, but Repede had already admitted to having difficulty adjusting, and Flynn could only imagine how tough things must be for Yuri. He wouldn't learn a lesson from the experience without a little suffering, but Flynn didn't want anything too drastic happening to him, and Repede certainly didn't deserve what had come to him when he'd only been trying to look after his foolhardy master.

"I want both of you to return to the palace with me." Flynn sighed, wondering how he was going to explain the need to house these strangers for a while.

When Yuri whined, Repede snorted derisively. "You think I do? The Little Wolves will be wondering where my claws have gone. If I can't fight for them, their old boss may return to take over." Glancing at the confusion on Flynn's face, he offered a brief explanation of what had set him off: "He does not wish to be seen."

That was all it took to ignite Flynn's temper, and he surged to his feet, moving to loom over Yuri.

"Right now, I honestly do not give a damn that you're embarrassed. Try thinking about what Repede is going through because of your selfishness. Think about what you're putting _me_ through! How do you expect me to fix _this_, Yuri? You brought it on yourself by acting like an idiot, doing something that may well have gotten you _and_ Repede killed, and now it's my problem, too. You've always been the type to leap before looking, but damn it, Yuri, _you did it literally this time_ and look where it's gotten you!"

Pausing to take a breath, he noticed that Yuri was cringing, ears laid flat and tail tucked.

Repede grinned. "I think he is ready to go out and be seen, now."

A little stunned that he'd managed to cow Yuri so easily, Flynn nodded. "Good."

He held the door for them, then followed down the stairs, watching Yuri's tail droop and thinking back over all he'd said. He hadn't been wrong, but….

Yuri had to be scared, or at least worried. He'd never gotten himself into a mess like this before, and it wasn't a problem that could be handled with a show of force. He had seen first hand how well fighting the sorcerer worked out, and now he was left without an enemy he could square off against and focus on. He had nothing in front of him except the problem, a result of his impulsiveness and desperation—and he _must_ have been desperate to try such a stupid stunt. What must have been running through his mind since he had woken up changed into a dog, unable to even communicate with people?

Hesitantly, Flynn reached down and stroked the fur between Yuri's ears. It was soft beneath his fingers, and Yuri's tail swayed a little as he glanced up at him. An apologetic smile had his tail wagging enthusiastically, ears perked as he barked once.

"He trusts you."

"I know. I'll find a way to get both of you back to normal."

"We know."

Repede smiled faintly, watching the street ahead as he walked. The uniform he wore was tight across his broad shoulders, but it was too long for him. The tunic hung almost to his knees and, as Flynn looked down, he could see that the pants bunched around his bare feet. He started to ask where the uniform had come from, but stopped abruptly when he realized that he recognized it. It was the same design as the uniform he had worn himself when he had joined the Knights. With that realization came the knowledge that Repede was almost certainly wearing Yuri's old uniform.

Flynn looked down at the dog walking beside him. After all these years, Yuri had still held on to his uniform. Despite his scorn for the Knights and the difficult path he had chosen, he had never thrown away that reminder of the few short months when he had stood beside Flynn as a lawful defender of the people. It had meant something to him.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he looked away from Yuri. No matter how badly he wished sometimes that things had been different, he still couldn't condone trying to change the past. It seemed too easy, too good to be true, and Flynn knew in his bones that it just wasn't right. People had to live with the choices they made. He had thought Yuri knew that.

It was strange to be walking the lower quarter with Yuri by his side when no one else knew that Yuri was with him. People who had watched them grow up called out greetings and thanks. Some of them asked after Yuri and jokingly advised Flynn to keep a close eye on him. He knew that Yuri hadn't been causing so much trouble lately, but part of that was because of his work as a member of Brave Vesperia. It was clear to Flynn that the inquiries were well-meaning concern about one of their own, that the people of the lower quarter probably missed having Yuri around to defend them and make life a little more exciting. His smile returned as they made their way toward the public quarter, and he laughed when he looked down to catch Yuri rolling his eyes at the attention Flynn was getting. True, Flynn lived in the palace, but he knew what coming home felt like. Yuri was lucky to be able to live surrounded by people who cared about him.

They had nearly made it out of the lower quarter when Yuri stopped and turned to look back the way they had come, ears perked. Repede growled when he noticed, and scanned the crowd for whatever had caught Yuri's attention.

"Awkward _and_ deaf. I'll be glad when I'm no longer human."

"Yuri? What's going on?"

He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Faintly, above the clamor of dozens of conversations and shouts, Flynn could pick out a voice calling his name. Soon enough, he spotted Ted hurriedly making his way through the crowd in their direction.

"Flynn! Flynn, wait up!" Ted was waving excitedly as he ducked and dodged, the grin on his face clear despite the distance.

By the time Ted made it up to them, he was out of breath and took a moment to catch his breath, hands braced against his knees. He acted as if he'd run the length of Zaphias to catch up, but in the next moment, he was standing straight and beaming, most of his theatrics over with.

"What has you in such a rush? I trust it isn't an emergency."

"You haven't been by in forever! I just wanted to catch you before you went up to the palace again."

"I'm sorry. Things have been busy lately. I'll try to set aside more time to visit."

His visits to the lower quarter were seldom leisurely, as he usually ended up helping out around the community in any number of little ways, but he relished the time he spent there. The hours passed quicker among so many friendly faces, and he always slept a little better the night after a return to the part of the city he had grown up in.

"Do you know where Yuri is? He was supposed to be back in town by now, but I haven't seen him."

Flynn forced himself not to look at the dog that had retreated to Repede's side, several steps removed from the conversation. "Yuri has been…delayed. He'll be back as soon as he can."

Ted's face fell. "He's supposed to be teaching me how to use a sword."

"I'm sorry. Sometimes he just doesn't think about others when he makes his choices." He saw Yuri flinch out of the corner of his eye and felt a spark of satisfaction. Good. Something had to get through to him this time. Flynn didn't want Yuri's next stupid idea to end up killing him.

"I've really got to be getting back. I'll be sure to send Yuri straight to you if I see him first."

"All right." He waved, considerably less enthusiastically than earlier, and disappeared back into the bustle of the lower quarter.

Thankfully, they made it back to the palace without further incident. Even better, due to his position, when Flynn asked a member of the palace staff to prepare a spare room close to his quarters for the man and dog accompanying him, no questions were asked. It was a relief that he would have a little more time to adjust and come up with a story, as he didn't particularly want it known that Yuri had been cursed and left vulnerable. He had his share of enemies, and Flynn didn't want any more problems cropping up while this mess remained unresolved. They were within sight of the door to his office when he heard Sodia call out to him from down the hall.

"Sir! Sir, I was told you had returned." She stopped short upon realizing that Repede and Yuri were actually accompanying Flynn rather than simply being in the hallway by coincidence. "Who are you?"

Flynn froze. Amid all his confusion and anger and concern, he had forgotten that he would eventually have to provide _names_ for Repede and Yuri in addition to a cover story. He grasped for something suitable, anything to tell Sodia, but Repede spoke up first.

"I'm Lambert. The dog is Fedrock."

Wasn't that pushing it? Flynn had told Sodia a little bit about his first post, years ago. She might have remembered. He watched her face, looking for suspicion or confusion as she studied Repede. Maybe it would be easier simply to tell her. It would be a relief to have someone who could help look for a way to reverse the spell. About to ask her to join them in his office so that he could explain, he heard a faint growl from beside him.

Everyone's attention jumped to Yuri. He was watching Sodia, hackles raised, tail curled scorpion-like over his back. His teeth weren't bared, but a growl, soft enough that it petered out every few seconds, issued from his throat. There would be no filling Sodia in on the situation. The hostilities between the two would surely rise if Yuri couldn't control his reaction to her.

"I'm sorry, Sodia. These people—this man and his very ill mannered dog—" The warning had little effect on Yuri aside from a brief cessation of his open dislike. "—will be staying in the palace as my guests for a few days. I've got to get them settled in. Please let everyone know to continue their training regiment as usual. We will reschedule the demonstration."

"Sir, what…?" She was watching Yuri, and there was something strange in her expression.

"If you'll excuse me—us." He ushered Repede and Yuri into his office and bid Sodia a good afternoon before following them in.

Closing the door behind him, Flynn leaned back against it and sighed. Problems, problems, problems. Why was it that nothing was ever simple when Yuri was involved? Ignoring for the moment the two very big problems standing in his office, he crossed the room to his desk and sat down behind it. The top was a mess of papers; reports, letters, proposals, requests, schedules, updates—the list went on and on. Most were directly related to his work as Commandant, though a few were personal—including some of the proposals. He gathered those first, quickly, and locked them in the top drawer. They would all be politely declined, of course, but that would have to wait, and he didn't want Yuri to see them in the meantime.

Looking over the mundane problems helped him calm down and get back to a place where everything was normal. He needed to take a step back from the enormity of the trouble Yuri had gotten himself into in order to get a clear idea of what to do next. Picking through the assortment of papers, sorting them according to urgency and the likelihood that he could trust a subordinate officer to carry out the tasks required allowed Flynn to get back to a place where he had some measure of control. Besides, his first duty was to the empire. If he was going to be spending any significant amount of time trying to help Yuri, he needed to be certain his own duties would not be neglected.

Once he had imposed order onto the chaos that had become of his desk, he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. A noise beside him made him look down, and he saw Yuri sitting next to his chair, watching him. As soon as he had Flynn's attention, his tail began wagging again.

"You're cuter like this." The words were out before Flynn could stop them, and he added hurriedly: "How you're so happy I'm around, I mean. It's a nice change."

Yuri made a noise somewhere between a whine and a growl. When he looked back to see his tail wagging, he tried in vain to catch it, circling a few times before giving up with a sigh.

"He can't help it. Dogs don't hide what they feel."

"So I've noticed."

Flynn eyed Yuri sideways, thinking of his reaction to Sodia a few minutes earlier. While he had known the two didn't much care for each other, he hadn't thought the hostility ran that deep. What in the world could have happened between them to cause such strong dislike? Was it that Sodia couldn't overlook Yuri's past crimes and Yuri couldn't forgive her reminding him of them? Somehow, it didn't seem likely to be that simple.

"What do you plan to do? I have no familiarity with magic and _that_ idiot," Repede pointed at Yuri with his pipe, "can only suggest trying to track down the sorcerer."

"We'll save that for a last resort. I think it would be best to begin in the archives. You…ah…." He paused, staring at Repede as a thought occurred to him. He had barely stopped to think about the fact that Repede could talk, but could he read? "Will you be helping search through the archives?"

Repede eyed him evenly for a moment. "You are asking a dog to read books."

"Right. Sorry." Feeling immensely stupid, he petted Yuri almost reflexively until the pleased thumping of his tail on the floor reminded him of the reality of their situation and he stopped abruptly.

"Usually, if there was something I needed to know, Yuri would read to me."

"He read you books?" Flynn looked back and forth between the two in disbelief. He had known Yuri treated Repede more like a partner than a pet, but still….

"When they were relevant. Some of them gave me new ways to fight."

Of course it would be that sort of thing. Trying to forget the peculiar image of Yuri reading bedtime stories to Repede out of his head, Flynn wondered what else the two of them shared that he wasn't privy to. He fixed his attention on Repede as something in particular came to mind.

"What happened at Zaude?"

Instantly, Yuri was on his feet and growling. He barked once at Repede. His tail wasn't wagging so happily anymore as they stared each other down.

"Yuri, stop that. I want to hear what he has to say."

Ever since Yuri's disappearance into the sea, Flynn had hated thinking of Zaude. It was a place of loss, a place where everything that could have gone wrong had done so. He'd barely slept for weeks after that day, and he'd had nightmares for longer, even after Yuri had returned to him. Never in his life had he felt so desperately helpless as he had when search after search revealed no trace of Yuri. Ever since Repede's words earlier that day, Zaude had been sitting heavily in the back of his mind. If there was anything else to the story, anything that could explain to him what had really happened or let him know how Yuri had survived, Flynn _needed_ to hear it.

It seemed, however, that he wasn't going to get his wish.

"I don't appreciate you asking me to divide my loyalty."

Realizing the position he'd put Repede in, Flynn apologized and let the matter rest. It was something he would have to discuss directly with Yuri, and now that he knew there was more to the story than a terrible accident, it was a discussion they would be having sooner rather than later. Preferably just as soon as Yuri was human once more.

A maid knocked shortly thereafter as Repede was in the middle of filling Flynn in on what they had been getting up to with Brave Vesperia over the past several weeks. She had come to inform him that the room he had requested be prepared was ready for his guests. She led them a short way down the hall to a suite smaller than his own apartments, but more than sufficient for what would hopefully be a short stay. Flynn had to cover a smile as he noticed the large, cushioned basket that someone had thought to furnish at the foot of the bed. Yuri had his very own dog bed. Once Flynn had assured her that everything was fine, she left them there alone.

"I do need to go back to work for a while, but I'll have dinner with you here and we can begin researching afterwards."

"That sounds—" Repede broke off to stare at Yuri who was apparently trying to tell him something. Rolling his eyes, he sighed and looked back to Flynn. "He is telling me to ask you why he will not be sharing your bed."

Yuri was grinning up at him, tongue lolling between his sharp teeth. He might have been joking, but….

"Stay," Flynn commanded. Biting back a smile, he turned and went back to his office.

* * *

The next few days were exhausting. Whatever time Flynn didn't spend in his official capacity as Commandant was spent digging through the imperial archives, searching for anything that might be of any use whatsoever. He couldn't keep Yuri and Repede with him in either situation. The change was wearing on everyone's nerves, making tempers flare and turning meaningless disagreements into fights. Flynn did his best to stay calm, but he was overworked and tired, exasperated, angry and, yes, _worried_ for his friends. He lost track of how many times he resolved to beat the hell out of Yuri once everything had been settled.

When he wasn't sleeping in the room he'd been given, Yuri was causing trouble for the palace staff and the Knights. He hadn't had a chance to be bored since before he had met Estellise and left the capital almost two years ago, and it seemed he had lost the knack for sitting still and waiting out the boredom. Whenever Flynn was at work or had kicked him out of the archives, Yuri turned to his considerable talent for mayhem in order to kill time. He stole food from the kitchens, at one point accumulating in his room over a dozen plates that had been licked clean of mabo curry. It became such a common sight to see him carrying a dish away in his jaws, that one of the maids who had an interest in photography actually found several opportunities to take pictures, one of which she happily presented to Flynn. Raiding the kitchens, however, was the least problematic of the things he got up to during the three days he spent in the palace.

Yuri hunted the squirrigles and chirpees that had moved into the garden, capturing some in order to release them inside the palace until there were small colonies living in the rafters. He raced through the halls and up and down the stairs. He barked at _everything_. At night, he howled at the moon.

There were a few knights in particular that Yuri had taken a special dislike to, and he made it his mission to steal every one of their weapons and bury them in the garden. He would dart out in front of groups of trainees doing laps and grin his doggy grin as they tripped and fell all over each other to avoid him. He played keep away with the Imperial Knights' banner. When he was feeling particularly playful, he would hide in one of the stable stalls and jump up like a Jack-in-the-box to startle people as they came in for a horse.

He would find ways to get into Flynn's room and cause trouble there. He chewed on the unopened love letters sitting in the bottom of Flynn's wardrobe. One day, he came charging into the bathroom while Flynn was soaking in the tub. Yuri leapt right into the water, splashing it all over everything, and licked Flynn's face, chin to hairline. The day after that, Flynn came back to his room after having spent several hours in the archives to find that Yuri had shredded all of his pillows, filling the room with feathers before settling down on Flynn's bed to wait for him. The cheerful wagging of his tail did nothing to lighten Flynn's mood, nor did the discovery that his bed reeked of dog.

The worst part of it was that Repede was absolutely no help. He had no trouble when it came to arguing with Yuri, but he refused to do anything to rein in his behavior when Flynn couldn't spare the time to puppysit. If anything, Repede was almost as amused by Yuri's troublemaking as Yuri himself. Flynn caught him trying not to laugh on several occasions. As if that wasn't bad enough, Repede kept leaving Yuri unsupervised in order to go down to the lower quarter and check in with the Little Wolves. His rival had been spotted in the area, and he didn't want any slipups while he was unable to answer any possible challenge the other dog might issue.

The final straw came one day during one of Flynn's regular meetings with the heads of the council. It couldn't have come due at a worse time, but he had no excuse to postpone it. Right in the middle of Flynn's report, Yuri dashed in through the doors, absolutely soaked. He ran straight up to the table and one leap landed him right in the center. Flynn was out of his seat in the blink of an eye, shouting for him to stop and fumbling between Yuri's name and his alias as Yuri shook. Cold water sprayed everywhere. The council members were all drenched, and Yuri disappeared as they were wiping their eyes, still shocked by the unexpected dousing.

Unsurprisingly, the meeting was hastily concluded. As the council members filed out past him, Flynn apologized to each of them, hoping his anger wasn't apparent in his voice. He held his arms stiffly at his sides, hands clenched into fists as the grumbling nobility looked down their noses at him. The head of the council was the last to leave, and the only one to bother speaking to Flynn.

"I should hope that it would go without saying, but as you've been allowing that monster free rein of the palace for the past few days, I feel the need to make the situation perfectly clear to you. That animal is a menace. He and his "keeper" are to be ejected from the palace _immediately_."

Flynn bit his tongue and waited until the man was gone. How many times had he told Yuri? _How many times_? What were they supposed to do if he and Repede were kicked out of the palace? They couldn't take care of themselves in the states they were in!

Anger carried him though the halls as he followed a trail of wet paw prints. He just wanted all of this to be over. One way or another, he was going to change Yuri back to normal, if only so that he could express the fury he was feeling through his sword. Sometimes it seemed like that was the only thing Yuri understood.

He found Yuri playing in the nearest of the palace fountains, likely where he had gotten so wet in the first place. Angry as he was, he held himself back until there was no longer any danger of being sprayed a second time. Infuriatingly, Yuri came trotting right up to him, looking as gleeful as a dog could manage and wagging his tail. It was a bigger surprise for him than it should have been when Flynn cuffed him on the nose.

"Don't you _dare_ growl at me, Yuri! You deserved far worse than that. I am doing everything in my power to help you, and all you can do is run around like a rebellious child. The head of the Council is demanding that I make you and Repede leave, and unless Master Ioder is _extremely_ forgiving of all your stupid pranks, I am not going to be able to refuse! By all rights, I should have sent you away when you first began causing problems!"

Yuri snorted, but his tail was tucked and his ears drooped. He had to know he had gone too far, but he'd been going too far for three days. Flynn wasn't done being angry with him yet.

"Come with me. We are going to beg Master Ioder to overlook your behavior and allow you to remain here as my guest. _If_ he agrees and _if_ you can stop burning off your energy by making everyone around you miserable, maybe you will be allowed to stay and we can find a way to break the curse."

When Flynn started off down the hall, Yuri followed along obediently. The clicking of his claws on the tile was the only sound he made as they walked, but the quiet grated on Flynn's nerves. He needed to fill it.

"I don't understand why you're acting like this. Since when have you been interested in mischief for mischief's sake? What has any of this accomplished aside from making me look bad? What was the point?"

"He has too much time and too much to think about." Repede had come out of nowhere, startling Flynn. For someone who had only just taken to walking on two feet, he was certainly good at sneaking up on people. He scratched behind Yuri's ears, earning a hesitant wag of his tail.

"It doesn't seem to me that he's doing too much thinking."

"Of course not. He is scared. He is doing everything he can _not_ to think about what is happening."

"That isn't an excuse. You can't tell me he's never been scared before."

"This is different, as you well know. Why not keep him company for a little while? Take him for a walk. The exercise will do him good."

He started to protest. He didn't have time to be fooling around. That argument died in his throat, however, as he remembered that the meeting which had been cut so abruptly short would normally have continued on for another two hours. For once, he actually did have time, and it wasn't as if the search of the archives had been turning up much of anything. He looked down at Yuri, still pressed up against Repede's leg, sulking.

"Do you want to go into the city with me?"

With a happy bark, Yuri took off down the hall. He only made it a little way down before dashing back to Flynn and nudging his hand impatiently with his nose.

"He wants to find some monsters to fight," Repede translated, grinning.

"How about we just start with a walk?" Although Yuri was getting around the palace well enough, Flynn had no interest in finding out if he had learned to fight the way Repede had, particularly not if he had to find out in the middle of a monster attack. Maybe Yuri had energy to burn and a mind full of fears he couldn't escape, but Flynn did not want to see him getting any further in over his head than he had already managed.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yup, there is a good reason for Yuri being OOC, and it's not pleasant.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from _Tales of Vesperia_ and do not belong to me.

* * *

His tail was wagging again. He hadn't been noticing it as much, but when it was traveling through his whole body, it was kind of hard to miss. Shaking himself threw it off, but he couldn't seem to stop it completely and soon stopped caring. Flynn was taking him for a _walk_.

The excitement carrying that thought was enough to jolt Yuri back to his senses, and he stopped in his tracks and sat on his haunches. It was getting harder and harder to remember that he wasn't really a dog. He had a hazy recollection of dousing the heads of the council, and he whined, angry and embarrassed and thinking that it was a wonder Flynn was still insisting on keeping him at the palace.

"Yuri?"

Flynn had stopped, too. He didn't sound quite so mad, anymore.

"He is sorry for having caused you trouble."

Not just sorry. Frustrated. Helpless. Scared. He was losing his mind to this dog's body, and it was being replaced by something much more common than Repede had ever been. He needed to tell them, needed to let them know that finding a way to break the curse was more important than they realized.

The feel of Flynn's fingers scratching between his ears had Yuri's tail wagging again. Flynn's attention made everything better. Yuri woofed at him, barely able to sit still as he threw his head back and licked Flynn's hand.

"Ugh. You're just as rotten like this as you were before. Come on. Let's go see what's going on in town."

One last quick ruffle of Yuri's ears and then Flynn was off. Yuri was up in a moment, trotting along eagerly at his side. _Flynn_ was taking him for a _walk_.

* * *

The palace had been an interesting place to explore, with so many people and smells packed together, but the city itself was amazing. Flynn had to keep calling Yuri back as he tried to take off down the street or explore alleyways. He could tell where carts had passed and what they had carried, he could sniff out the trails of other dogs and the cats that roamed the capital, and all around him were people, a clamor of people, all with their own unique scents that told stories about who they were and what they did and where they'd been.

He tried to explain it to Flynn, but Flynn couldn't understand him, and Repede had left to see his pack. Eventually, Yuri gave up on trying to tell him and simply followed the scents that interested him. Meat tended to get his attention quickly, and Flynn was forced time and again to yank him away from all sorts of nice people who might have been willing to share their treats with him. He knew he shouldn't be begging from people, but sometimes their food just smelled so _good_.

A man walking past cuffed him when Yuri tried to get a sniff of the sausage in a bun he was eating, and Yuri shook his head, disoriented. What was he doing? He didn't have time to be begging food from people! Where was Flynn? He needed to tell him about the curse worsening. He needed to…needed to….

Squirrigle!

Barking, Yuri took off after the creature, chasing it up the side of a building where it perched on a second story window ledge and chattered down at him tauntingly. He jumped and barked, wanting to get at it, wanting it to come down and play. His nails scrabbled against the side of the building until Flynn grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him away.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I'll keep a closer eye on him."

A woman was standing in the doorway, looking at them. Yuri barked at her, trying to tell her about the squirrigle, but she didn't look at it.

"What is wrong with you, Yuri? You're acting strange. Don't tell me you're actually having fun playing like a real dog."

Yuri whined. The squirrigle was _right there_, but Flynn was pulling him away.

"If you can't behave out here, we're going back to the palace where at least you can't run off and get lost for long."

One last bark and he gave up and stopped fighting against Flynn's hold on him. He wanted a good scratch behind the ears, but Flynn pulled his hand away. Maybe there would be pets and scratches once they got where they were going. He liked pets. He liked pets from Flynn the best, but Flynn was always busy with books and papers and people. Yuri wanted some attention.

A familiar voice caught his ears though the babble of the city and Yuri froze, listening, before taking off into the crowd. He heard Flynn behind him, calling out, but he raced ahead, dodging around and underneath the people streaming across his path. There were shouts and swears, something hit him in the side, but he kept going, intent on the boy he'd heard just up ahead. Shoving between a sudden press of legs and skirts, he finally caught sight of Ted and bounded up to him, barking a greeting.

Ted was a good kid. He liked Ted. Yuri barely kept from jumping up and licking the boy's face. Instead, he sat on the cobblestones, tail waving wildly behind him, as Ted reached out and gave him that scratch he'd been wanting.

"Ted! Oh, good. Keep him there!" Flynn came hurrying up and swatted Yuri. "When I say 'heel,' that means you stop!"

"Is this your dog, Flynn?"

"I'm watching him for a friend who is going to owe me _big_ when he gets back."

"Wow. Is this guy a handful?"

Ted had knelt down and was scratching behind Yuri's ears _and_ under his chin. It was bliss. He flopped over onto the cobblestones and let the humans talk over him.

"More than you would believe."

"He sure doesn't seem as well-trained as Repede."

"No…. No, you're right, he doesn't."

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"Just a thought…."

"Hey, you look pretty beat. Want me to watch him for you for a bit? Mom won't let me get a dog of my own."

"We should really be getting back. I've got to…. I need to check on something."

"Aww, come on. Look at him. He's dying for some attention! Aren'tcha, boy!" The scratches got quicker, ruffling fur all along his side. Yuri writhed on the paving stones and managed to lick Ted's wrist a couple times in gratitude. "What's his name, anyway?"

"Fedrock."

"Fedrock, huh? You wanna go play outside the city, Fedrock? Do ya, boy?"

Yuri whuffed and was on his feet in a heartbeat. He knew that word, 'play.' Ted laughed as Yuri licked his face.

"Come on, Flynn? Please?" He held Yuri's head to look up at Flynn, who sighed.

"All right. Let's go play."

He started walking and Yuri and Ted followed. They were heading toward the place where the outside smells got stronger. Yuri caught whiffs of grass and dirt and places without people. He pressed close against Ted as they walked. He wanted to race ahead, but Ted's fingers in his fur kept him from running off. Still, even a good scratch wasn't a match for the smell of outside. When the gate came into view, he bolted.

Flynn and Ted shouted after him. They were so slow! He raced across the grass, feeling the earth under his toes and the wind in his fur. He _liked_ being able to run like that, and he turned around to bark for them to hurry up and come play.

Ted found a stick. Yuri knew about stick games. He chased after it when Ted threw it, just running and running, and then he could run it back and Ted would throw it so he could run some more. The stick game was a good game.

Flynn watched them play for a while, then went and sat down under a tree. Soon, Yuri could tell that he was sleeping, but that was okay. He had Ted to play with while Flynn slept.

They played for a long time, until even Yuri got tired and came back for scratches and tummy rubs instead of more running. Ted was just getting a good scratch going in _the spot_ when Yuri heard paws racing over the ground. He looked up to see a dog not much smaller than himself approaching, obviously looking for a fight. Immediately, Yuri stood up between the dog and Ted and growled.

_Disgusting! That Repede has ruined this town. We shouldn't be groveling at the humans' feet for attention!_

Yuri knew this dog. He was Little Wolf, Repede's enemy. He was a bad dog.

_Out of the way! I'm going to use that human to send Repede a message!_

Snarling, Little Wolf charged forward. Yuri wasn't going to let him hurt Ted, though. They fought, biting and clawing and barking at each other, tumbling over the grass and breaking apart and charging in again. Little Wolf was quick. He didn't attack from the front, but came in to bite at Yuri's sides and then hurry away. Yuri couldn't catch him, and it made him angry. He used to be fast when he fought. Why did he feel so clumsy?

He heard Flynn shouting as he joined the fight. Little Wolf was fierce, but even he became cautious against two opponents. When more dogs and cats came racing out of the town after him, the fight was over. Repede was following his pack, but Little Wolf turned tail and ran before he got there.

Carefully, Yuri lay down on the grass and panted. His sides hurt. Little Wolf had bitten him many times. He tried to lick the blood away, but that only made it hurt worse, and he whined. It was all right, though. Ted was okay. That was good.

Repede came and stood over him. He growled as he watched the members of his pack that had chased Little Wolf return without him. "He got away."

"Never mind that right now. Yu—Fedrock's hurt." Flynn knelt in the grass and petted him. Yuri tried to lick his hand. Flynn was upset. He could tell.

"He shouldn't have been fighting. He isn't used to it."

"Ted, get back to town. It's safer there."

"But what about—"

"I'll take care of him! Go!"

Ted left. His feet pounded over the earth and Yuri whined. He didn't like it when Flynn yelled.

"Damn it, Yuri! What the hell were you thinking?"

Something soft was pressed into his mouth and he swallowed it down, licking Flynn's fingers. Repede was touching his side. It hurt. When Yuri tried to snap at him, Flynn grabbed hold of his muzzle.

"It isn't going to be enough. Most of these are too deep for one gel to fix."

"I don't have any more with me. Watch your hands. If we've got to bandage him up, we're going to need some cloth."

Flynn let go of Yuri's muzzle. He took off his cape.

"Help me get him up."

Being pushed and pulled hurt. Yuri yelped and tried to lie back down.

"Yuri, stop that! We're trying to help you, you idiot! …He's bleeding everywhere. Repede, is he going to be all right?"

"He's been hurt worse. Hurry and wrap him up."

Flynn's cape went tightly around his sides. No matter how much Yuri whined, they made him stand still until it was fixed in place. Finally, Repede scratched behind his ears.

"Good boy. Can you walk back to the palace?"

The Palace. Yes.

"We can get some more gels in town on the way. That will help." Flynn took a step forward and watched Yuri. "Come on."

Walking hurt, but Flynn said they had to go. He wanted to stay near Flynn. He didn't want to be alone while he was hurt. So, he followed.

* * *

It seemed like much later that Yuri was left alone in the sitting room of the chambers he'd been given to share with Repede. He'd been fed more gels and his sides felt much better. Night had fallen and no one had turned on the lights. They had told him to go to sleep, but in the still darkness, it was easier for him to think, easier to focus. Alone in the dark, it was easier to remember: easier to remember that he wasn't a dog, or hadn't always been; that as the hours ticked by, he lost more and more of his lucidity; easier to remember the terror that came with the realization of how quickly his humanity was being erased and how swiftly his awareness slipped away the moment some new stimulus grabbed his attention. 'Yuri' was becoming a barely remembered dream. Soon, all that would be left would be Fedrock, and there was no way he could explain the urgency of the situation to Flynn, not when the sight of him—hell, even the smell of him—was enough to reduce Yuri to an excitable, poorly-trained puppy. Even the sound of his voice, carrying faintly through the open window from his state room only a few rooms over was a distraction. It took far too much effort for Yuri to listen and understand the meaning of the words, rather than simply letting his tail wag happily, thumping mindlessly against the floor.

"—can't let this go on any longer! You've seen the way he's behaving. Something isn't right. Has he said anything to you?"

"No. However, it's difficult to translate sometimes, and he speaks very simply."

"What do you mean, 'simply?'"

"He talks to me…as if he is only just learning to talk. It is…disjointed."

"And that's not normal? He ought to be able to express himself more clearly?"

"Nothing about his situation is normal."

"Damn…. _Damn_! Searching the archives isn't getting me anywhere. We're going to have to go find the sorcerer to get you back to normal."

"You mean Yuri."

"…What?"

"We need to get Yuri back to normal. He is the one who was cursed."

"Repede…you…. Tell me again what happened when you followed Yuri to the sorcerer."

"He made his wish, argued with the man, and was turned into a dog. Then, we were both sent back to where we had departed from. It is what I told you before."

"No. No, it's not. Don't you see the difference? Yuri wasn't the only one who was cursed. You used to be a dog, Repede."

"Nonsense. I would remember that. I…."

"Try to remember. You—"

Yuri heard hurried footsteps approaching from the hall, and the sound pulled his attention away from what Flynn was saying. The door to his room was flung open, and he could smell Sodia.

Sodia meant pain.

He didn't like Sodia.

Yuri growled from where he lay on the floor and watched her. She kept her distance, not on the attack just yet. She had a knife. He remembered that. He would have to be careful.

"Yuri Lowell. I overheard Flynn talking just now." Down the hall, he heard a door open. Sodia paid it no attention and stepped closer. "How appropriate that you would get yourself changed into a mongrel. It suits you. I couldn't have wished for anything better for a cur like you!"

"Sodia!"

At the sound of Flynn's voice, Yuri's growl broke off and he wagged his tail a few times as he got up. He went to Flynn's side as Flynn turned up the oil lamps to light the room.

"C-Commandant Flynn! Sir! I was only—"

"Before you say another word, lieutenant, please be sure it is the beginning of an explanation and not an excuse. I want to know exactly what happened between the two of you."

"Yuri and I are forgetting our original selves," Repede said shortly. "We do not have time for this!"

"We can't set out until dawn at the earliest, and I want an explanation. I am sick of all the hostility between these two!"

"You want to know? You aren't going to like it."

Yuri growled again, this time at Repede. He knew, somehow, that he didn't want this talk to go on. It didn't matter.

"Yuri did not simply fall from the Shrine of Zaude. He was pushed when Sodia attempted to murder him."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Details about the sorcerer become important again in this chapter. This is where I was so worried about it not making sense, but I had the story looked over, so it should be fine.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from _Tales of Vesperia_ and do not belong to me.

* * *

"Yuri did not simply fall from the Shrine of Zaude. He was pushed when Sodia attempted to murder him."

The dog. Of course, the dog would have known. Sodia felt dizzy as his words filled the room, eating up all the air, sucking the very solidity out of the floor beneath her feet. Strength and training kept her standing tall when all she wanted was for the floor to swallow her up, for the dog to have kept his mouth shut, for Yuri to have just died in the ocean and disappeared so that none of this would be happening.

He hadn't died, though. He'd come back like some sort of vengeful spirit, and she'd seen how much he meant to Flynn, and she'd seen how dangerous his influence could be. She'd also seen his blood on her knife, on her hands. She'd seen how he could influence even _her_ actions, how she hadn't been all that different from him when she'd tried to save Flynn from him. He'd survived. He'd as much as admitted she'd been right to try to get rid of him. What she'd done should have been carried to their graves. Instead, she was being forced to watch as Flynn listened to what she'd done, listened to it recounted from Lowell's faithful hound, rather than from her own mouth. She heard her actions recounted in the voice of another and wanted to argue, wanted to shout and rail and say it wasn't like that at all, it was different, it was necessary, what else could she have done? But she had no words, no breath to speak them even if she did. All she had was her strength, honed under Flynn's leadership, and her training, practiced at his side every day, and it was taking all of that to keep her standing at attention while Flynn's eyes went wide with disbelief and horror.

Worst of all was when he looked at her, mute and pale, and she knew he believed that she had betrayed him.

He drew a sharp breath, and the sound of it was like knives piercing her skin. She had never wanted to run away so badly in her entire life.

"Repede."

Sodia suppressed a wince. His voice was cold and brittle as icicles.

"Take Yuri into the bedroom and be sure he will stay there. I'd like to speak with you afterward, in my state room."

Lowell must not have liked what he heard in Flynn's voice, either. He whined. For a split second, Sodia saw rage in Flynn's eyes like she'd never seen before, and she flinched back, sure that whatever control had been keeping him calm must surely have snapped. She was wrong. He drew a deep breath, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and very slightly tremulous.

"I don't even want to look at you right now."

Murmuring to Lowell, Repede pulled him from the room. Sodia watched them go until the door shut behind them. She didn't want to be left alone with Flynn. She needed to defend herself, but she needed time to find the words, time to gather her thoughts to be able to explain to him. If Lowell could see it, surely Flynn would—

"Out of my sight."

"Sir—"

"That was an _order_."

He met her eyes and she saw that rage there, banked and barely kept in check. She almost wished he would unleash it upon her, punish her, put the matter to rest for good. She knew he wouldn't. He was above that sort of emotional snap decision-making.

She turned to go. Somehow, she made it to the door, though she couldn't understand how her knees hadn't given out beneath her. Her hand fell on the knob, and Flynn spoke up again from behind her.

"Report to me first thing in the morning. I will decide how to handle this tonight."

"Yes, sir."

She left him there, closing the door silently behind herself as she walked numbly down the hall.

So. One more evening as a Knight before her choices brought her discharge, or worse. She had no illusions about whether Flynn would side with Lowell or not. That murderer had a hold on Flynn that no one else could compete with. He was the one stain on an otherwise perfect leader, and now, she wouldn't even be around to be able to mitigate his influence.

If only Lowell wasn't around. If only he had died that day!

Pausing with one hand on the door to Flynn's state room, she bit down on her thumb. The sorcerer. The one who had turned Lowell into a dog. If he had been willing to curse him, surely he wouldn't balk at making it so that Lowell had never washed up out of the ocean.

The image of Flynn's face in the days after the battle at Zaude surfaced in her mind. Something had broken in him when he'd thought Lowell was dead. Could she really do that to him again? Could she knowingly cause him that sort of pain again, even if it was only to protect him? If Lowell died—_actually died_—there was no telling how long that would haunt Flynn.

Surely he would be strong enough to overcome it eventually. Surely. _Surely_. He _had_ to be.

Hot tears trickled down her face. She couldn't do it. She couldn't make herself into a murderer, not when she had seen the consequences, not over scum like Lowell. She hadn't even succeeded in killing him, and her life was ruined because of it.

Unless…if the sorcerer was really able to grant any wish, could she wish that she had stayed at Flynn's side that day? Could she wish that she had never made that attempt on Lowell's life? He was still alive, anyway. What difference would it make, except that she would never have to see Flynn look at her the way he had only moments before? She could stay by his side, she could try to make him see the truth about Lowell, and she would be blameless and free. She could protect him with a clear conscience.

Resolve steadied her step and straightened her spine. She would leave and go find that sorcerer if it was the last thing she ever did, and she would wish that she had never left Flynn's side that rueful day at Zaude.

The world…_changed_, flickering around her, and Sodia fell to her knees, slumping against the wall and fighting to stay conscious. She felt briefly as if she were someplace far, far away, rather than in the palace hallway. There was a shift as she struggled to her feet, something subtle and unexplainable, but still strong enough to leave her dizzy and leaning against the wall for support as things snapped back into place and reality held her solidly once more. For a moment, she forgot where she was, what she'd been doing.

She was supposed to go see someone, wasn't she? No, she'd gone. She had seen him already. Someone powerful. Someone important.

Clutching her head, she struggled to remember. It had been incredibly important, so how could she have forgotten? What if it had been a mission for Flynn?

No. No, that didn't feel right. It hadn't been that sort of important. It had been something more…personal.

She looked down to see that she'd clasped her hands tightly beneath her chest.

She'd been holding a knife, bright with reflected sunlight and the blood it had drawn. Bright, bright red blood. It dripped from the knife that was shaking in her hands, and when she looked up to see whose blood stained her blade, she saw Yuri Lowell, eyes wide and shocked as he fell backwards off the Enduring Shrine of Zaude.

Sodia flung the blade away and only barely kept the building scream from erupting out of her. Compulsively, she wiped her suddenly sweaty palms over her uniform as she came back to her senses amid the familiar surroundings.

There was no knife. She was in the palace, empty-handed. She had never even _been_ to the top of Zaude. Memory came back to her, contradicting that strange barrage of images and sensations that had briefly taken over her faculties. She had wanted to go to the top of the shrine, she'd wanted so badly to follow Lowell up and confront him about his crimes and about how Flynn changed around him, but she hadn't. Flynn had been injured protecting that lowlife, and Sodia had chosen to stay by his side until a healer could get to him. She remembered that. She could remember cutting his uniform away to get a better look at his wound. She remembered the look and feel and smell of burned flesh, cauterized by the hit he had taken so that at least there was no danger of bleeding out. She had stayed at Flynn's side until everything was over. If Lowell had been stabbed, it hadn't happened by her hand.

Still, that had felt so real, a moment ago. She _knew_ she had never been to the top of the tower, but she could practically feel the salt breeze, its smell almost strong enough to drown out the odor of blood.

Shaking her head, she took deep breaths, trying to calm down. Lowell was still rather unfortunately alive, or at least he had been the last time he'd shown up unannounced in Flynn's quarters. Why the Commandant allowed him to do that was beyond her. Old friend or not, there were boundaries to be observed. Although…there was something strange between the two of them, an aura that surrounded them and kept others excluded when they were together. Sometimes, she wondered if that sort of atmosphere could exist between people who were nothing more than friends, no matter how deep that bond went.

That thought was almost as disturbing as the lingering feel of the knife in her hands, though for very different reasons.

She needed to calm down. She needed something to focus on to take her mind off of those detestable thoughts. Perhaps Flynn could help her clear her thoughts. She was right outside his state room. She must have been on her way to report, never mind that she couldn't remember what she'd meant to be reporting on. One way or another, she was confident that Flynn would have an answer for her. She straightened her uniform and took one last deep breath for good measure before knocking sharply and letting herself in.

"Commandant." She stopped a respectful few steps away from his desk and saluted. "I'm here to…."

Trailing off, she took a good look at Flynn. He was seated in his chair but, rather than being intent on any of the paperwork that came with his office, he was pushed away from the desk and slumped in the seat. She had never seen him slump like that before and, as she watched, he tried clumsily to push himself up straighter. His face was flushed and he looked glassy-eyed.

"Sodia…?"

"Sir, are you all right?"

"Fine, I—ah!" His hands clenched on the edge of the desk, nails gone white as they dug into the wood. "I just…I'm not feeling…so good."

Behind him, she noticed the slender sword propped up against the wall next to the window, and looked from it to the bedroom door that stood slightly ajar. Lowell was around, somewhere. Much as she hated to admit it, there was something going on between him and the Commandant. It must have started…must have started shortly after Lowell's visit just after the battle at Zaude.

She rubbed a hand over her face. Her mind felt once more too full of conflicting memories, all of them hazy and not quite real. She knew Lowell had come around not long after their return from Zaude, and that he and Flynn had spent quite some time alone. Afterward, things had been much less tense between the two, and Flynn had seemed more at peace whenever his name had come up. At the same time, however, she could have sworn that any thought of the murdering vigilante had caused Flynn a great deal of grief for weeks after the fight with Alexei, and that he hadn't seen Lowell until much later.

Something was very, _very_ wrong.

She took a step forward. "Commandant, I—"

"Sodia, now is—" He broke off and bit his lip, sucking in a sharp breath through his nose. "…_not_…a good time."

"Should I call for a doctor?"

"No! No, just…." He seemed to be forcing back a groan. "I'll be fine. Come back later."

He had never been sick enough to allow it to interfere with his work, and that worried her more than anything. Ignoring his protests, she started forward, intent on forcing him to at least get some rest if necessary. As she came around the desk, she froze.

She couldn't understand what she was seeing, at first. Flynn had always been good, always so noble. He was the perfect leader: focused, strong, and driven by a purpose greater than himself, greater than all of them. He stood above all other men, untouched by the baser urges that tainted so much of humanity. He had been her ideal. He had been pure, but now there he was before her, exposed and filthy, dark and glistening with something she didn't dare consider, made low and dirty by the man—the _murderer_—kneeling between his legs, lips stretched wide in a wet, horrible grin at the obscenity he had been committing on the Commandant.

Lowell had taken from Flynn everything he should have been, pulled him down to his level, into the filth he'd crawled out of. He'd sullied him, ruined him, made him less. It was Lowell. She had always known it would be Lowell with his bloodstained hands and common soul. He couldn't have just stayed in Flynn's shadow where he belonged. He had to drag Flynn down and tarnish him—in the very seat of his power, no less.

The rage hit Sodia like a physical blow, making her stagger, and she reacted to it like her training bid her. Yuri had destroyed Flynn. Yuri was a threat.

She drew her sword and charged, screaming.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Last chapter. Hope you enjoyed the story. =)

I did what I could to try and be sure it was self-explanatory, but if it didn't make sense, I've posted an explanation. There's a link in my profile.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from _Tales of Vesperia_ and do not belong to me.

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Wincing, Yuri bit the inside of his cheek as Flynn wrapped bandages tightly around his ribs. It hurt like hell, and he probably shouldn't have been letting Flynn patch him up, not when he was so obviously shaken up over what had just happened. He understood how it was to _need_ to be doing something, though, so he kept his mouth shut and bore the rough treatment from trembling hands.

"I didn't know the trouble between the two of you was this bad."

Although Flynn's shaking didn't carry through into his voice, the soft tone he used was just as telling. The atmosphere between them was thick and strange, as if they were enshrouded by the shock, needing to stay quiet and hidden from others until the world made sense again. Flynn's hands never left his body for more than a heartbeat as he knelt on the floor, head bowed over his work, his cheek practically resting on Yuri's shoulder. There was blood everywhere, which probably wasn't helping, but Yuri hadn't exactly been in any position to move right after Sodia had stabbed him, and Flynn hadn't let him try once all the ruckus had died down.

A pair of Royal Guardsmen had been close enough to hear the commotion, and it had been the two of them that, on Flynn's orders, had arrested Sodia and taken her down to the dungeon. Yuri'd had enough presence of mind left to tell them not to put her in _his_ cell, and then Flynn was right there with him, telling him to shut up and yelling for gels and bandages as he tried desperately to staunch the bleeding.

It had been a bad wound. Yuri was able to tell as much even through the lightheadedness that had made the pain seem far away as sleep called to him. Flynn had kept him awake and force-fed him a couple gels as soon as a doctor brought them. He'd allowed the man to examine Yuri just long enough to determine that the injury wouldn't be fatal, though it was going to take some time to heal, and then Flynn had sent everyone out of the room, insisting on tending to Yuri himself.

"I'm okay, Flynn."

He wasn't, really. He was going to be completely out of commission for at least a few days, and he was pretty shaken up, himself. Even though he hadn't liked Sodia, she'd had Flynn's trust, so Yuri had given her some of his. _That_ had been a mistake. There were reasons he didn't trust most people, and nearly getting killed by Flynn's second-in-command was a good example of why trust shouldn't be handed out easily. So, yeah. Laid up, in pain, and betrayed by someone Flynn had trusted with his life. He was most definitely not okay, but he would be damned if he was going to admit that and make Flynn feel worse. The betrayal would already be weighing more heavily on him than it did on Yuri.

When Flynn gave no indication that he'd heard, Yuri butted his forehead gently against the crown of his head. He wanted to reach up and force Flynn to look at him, but with one hand trapped between them and the other coated with blood from where it was braced on the squelching carpet, that was not an option.

"Hey." He waited until Flynn lifted his head, hair tickling over Yuri's face until they were eye-to-eye, foreheads and noses brushing together. The warmth of Flynn's hands intensified as they stilled, one on his chest, the other on his back.

"It's gonna be okay."

Mutely, Flynn shook his head. His lips brushed against Yuri's in what might have been a kiss or might have been an accident as he leaned forward to slump against him, breath warm and damp in the hollow of Yuri's throat. The bandages went a little slack as Flynn set aside dressing the wound in favor of simply holding him. Yuri kissed his temple, moving his clean hand to rest on Flynn's knee.

Obviously, it was going to be a while before things were actually okay. If someone he'd trusted had come so close to killing Flynn right before his eyes, Yuri was pretty sure he wouldn't have handled things so calmly. Well, _maybe_ calmly. Not legally. There wouldn't have been arrests and dungeons for whoever had done it, certainly. He'd have made sure those things weren't necessary.

"So, you want me to finish up what we'd started?"

Flynn laughed at that, a breathy, incredulous burst of sound, and he smacked Yuri lightly on the back of the head as he sat back.

"Idiot." His eyes were a little brighter than usual. "Are you all right?"

"I was thinking about taking a vacation, anyway." He let his smile fade away. "You?"

"I'm not sure. I don't understand what would drive her to do something like that."

He had to, though. On some level, he understood. Both of them did. There wasn't any possible way that associating with a known criminal could benefit Flynn's reputation. Sodia had been trying to protect her Commandant. Yuri only wished one of them had seen how sharp the edge of her devotion had become before things had gotten out of hand. Even with all his adventures across Terca Lumireis, even when he had fought Alexei and Duke and the Adephagos, Yuri had never come as close to death as he had less than half an hour ago in the supposed safety of Flynn's state room.

There was simply no telling what some people were capable of. As Flynn returned to swathing him in bandages, Yuri wondered if Sodia would come to regret what she had done, or if Flynn was important enough to her that she would try again to protect him in her own way, given half a chance.

Either way, they were all going to have to cope with what she'd done. There was no changing the past, after all.


End file.
